I'm here tonight cuz, this week I bought another wagon ... And, I'm beginning to think, that maybe I may be addicted.... to wagons. Previously I didn't think my wagon-luv was anything extraordinary. You know, Hey, they're just practical vehicles, right? But then I got to thinking about it... my wagon history, and all... and hmmmm, maybe there's something deeper... I have fond memories of going to the drive-in movie theater as a kid, in a wagon that belonged to our across-the-street neightbors. Can't tell you what kinda wagon it was, wish I could remember. But I do clearly remember climbing around on the monkey bars directly underneath the movie screen and also sitting on the roof rack of their wagon during the first movie and then falling asleep in the back with the neightbor's kids during the second movie. The adults were, all the while, sitting in my parents' sedan. When I was a teenager, my parents bought a Plymouth ___(?) wagon and a StarCraft pop-up camper. The wagon was creamy yellow, w/wood-grain sides and a '70s olive green interior. We enjoyed many family trips in that car. However it wasn't til college that I managed to capitalize on this particular combo's specialness... I drove them together on dates and on camping trips with boyfriend, plus spring breaks to the Florida Keys with friends, and finally, our honeymoon, yes honeymoon, to KeyWest, in the pop-up pulled by the wagon. Heaven! But really, the thing is, I was not aware of any soft spot in my heart for wagons at that time. Maybe that's cause the Plymouth had a tendancy to overheat. I can't count the number of times, when, in summertime, I was forced to run down the interstate with the heater blasting on high in an effort to keep the radiator from boiling-over. I don't recall how that car left our lives; I was, essentially, still a kid. Jump forward, about 15 years, my daughter was 5 and I was driving a really old car and the rusted out floor board was melting my shoe soles... So, I started thinking maybe we needed a "new car". I started looking through the newspaper. At first, I thought maybe a van would do, because I had a child and also we liked to go camping... But NO! I discovered that vans (and pick-up trucks) were hip and cool; even the old ones, as much as 10 years old, were running $5000+. That was way more than I could afford! Eventually I noticed that wagons of comparable age and cargo/passenger carrying capacity were going for $2000-3000. And that's how I came in 1994, to buy "Capricey" (dtr's name for her), a 1984 Chevy Caprice Estate Wagon. At first I was very uncomfortable behind her wheel. She just seemed SO upscale, such a boat!, compared to the 1965 Dodge Dart GT that I'd driven ever-since I'd gotten my driver's license almost 20 years earlier. Eventually I fell in love with Capricey. She served me well, as a daily driver and on cross-country vacations, UNTIL September 2004, when Hurricane Ivan dropped a 100year old oak tree across the driveway, crushing Capricey and the Dart. I'm still in mourning, for the tree and both cars. Capricey was replaced with a 1986 Chevy wagon, almost identical (exterior-wise). This new wagon was stolen a year after I bought her and then recovered by the police a month later. As of now, she's still my daily driver and although I wouldn't mind something that gets better gas mileage, I find her very satisfying... And that brings me full circle - Am I looking to buy a car? No. So what brings me here? My daughter, the reason for my first wagon puruchase, is headed off to college this month, and one of her friends had a car for sale last week. It was a wagon, that he'd acquire through a family friend, the original owner. My dtr's friend is a teenager of limited financial means who found, in the end, that as much as he liked the romantic idea of an old car, the reality was he couldn't afford the set of tires and other things that the wagon needed to stay on the road. And so he'd decided to sell it before going back to college. I bought it; couldn't resist. My new car = 1975 Ford Gran Torino station wagon. (Pictures tomorrow)
Great Intro... Welcome to our forums and glad you are here. I haven't seen a Gran Torino wagon in years.
Normin...you must stop speed reading She owns a Ford...which makes me like her that much more Michelle..1st off great intro!! 2nd off..great choice in rides! 3rd.............. to our playground...dont let the boys sense of humor scare ya!! just the other day we were asking...."why isnt there any gals into wagons" ..........(a question I've been asking myself for years)..... Welcome...hope you stick around...we could use some...'other' hormones !!....
Well, my 'other hormone' is back from Mexico. Maybe I'll read better! She's my other half, after all, and don't ask which half, cause I don't know.
Welcome I also have a 1975 Gran Torino that I recently purchased. Can't wait to see the pics of your's.
WELCOME ABOARD Michelle and yeah, DITTO - GREAT Intro you wrote the other day! COOL! Great Memories for sure! Carry on the tradition - you've got PLENTY of company here on the addiction...it only gets worse; so buckle Up and hang on! NEAT wagon! Can't wait to see pics! I owned a '74 Torino Coupe for awhile; low mileage original and I NEVER Should've sold it but alas....so I have a penchant for all Torinos; esp., Wagons! take care and WELCOME Aboard again!
-- she owns a Ford, a Chevy and spent lots of years in a Mopar ... Cheers Dyna Ah need to do my intro now I guess..
Nice intro Michelle, cars are a lot to do with people and I enjoyed the read. Riding with the heat on..been there done that.. you havnt lived until you had to ride down the hot roadway cranking up the heat. I am restoring my wagon and I am going to put a multi-core radiator in just to be on the safe side. Anyway my love of the wagon is much the same as yours..that is to say..Family memories. Welcome aboard.
